Ranchers feel the pain of the drought
By Ashleigh Plemper
Farmer Staff Writer
If you’ve ever noticed the drastic differences of textures and colors that the badlands beholds, it almost symbolizes North Dakota’s weather and its extremes. Extremes that local ranchers know all too well after being hit with the hard blows of an ongoing drought.
Spring calving season is usually a time of the year they look most forward to. Lately, there seems to be a preoccupation with making sure the needs of the bare minimum are met due to a lack of moisture that has drastically reduced forage and other aspects of agricultural life.
“It’s a very extreme climate because we can have winters as bad as anybody and we can have summers as bad as anybody and that’s not true for a lot of places,” says Pete Best, owner of Best Angus and Quarter Horses.
Though no rancher ever looks forward to reducing their herd, sometimes, it’s a decision that has to be made.
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